South Indian Dahi Vada / Thayir Vadai / Curd Vada Recipe

I was terribly jet-lagged all of last week. I couldn't keep my eyes open beyond 8pm and was up and about by 4:30 which is super duper rare for me because I am just not a morning person. I have to say I secretly enjoyed my energy at 5 in the morning the past few days. 

On Saturday morning, I had this weird craving for medhu vada / uzhunnu vada. I have made this in the past so you can find the medhu vada recipe here. 

A few differences this time while making medhu vada: 

- I made the batter in my Ultra wet grinder and this makes all the difference in your  medhu vada. I was amazed how crisp the vadas were outside and soft inside. I was also able to get the doughnut shape (although not perfect), you just need to resist the temptation to add too much water to the urad dal while its grinding. This is harder to control in a mixie I guess. 

- I added whole peppercorn like the ones you get in restaurants. TH doesn't like biting into them but I didn't have an option because we were out of green chillies. I also added ginger more liberally than last time. 

Perfect, pillowy, and soft. 

But today's recipe is all about dunking these deep fried awesomes into a bowl of flavoured curd, letting them soak for a while and then sinking your teeth in the resulting goodness. We did this with the few remaining vadas and actually enjoyed it more than the vadas by themselves. 

South Indian Thayir Vadai Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

6 medhu vada

1 cup thick curd

1/4 cup water

Chopped coriander leaves

1/2 tsp paprika or Kashmiri red chilli powder

1/2 tsp roasted jeera powder

Salt to taste

How I Made It:

1. Dunk the vadas into a bowl of warm water, soak for 10 seconds, take them out and squeeze out the excess water. This will ensure that the vadas are softer once soaked in the curd. 

2. Beat the curd with some water, the jeera powder, and salt. Add the vadas in and leave in the fridge for atleast 4 hours or overnight. 

3. Before serving, garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and chilli powder / paprika. Kara boondi also makes an excellent garnish but sadly, I didn't have any. 

Notes:

1. The Dahi Vada made in Northern parts of India is slightly different from this. The spices used to flavour the dahi are different and they usually serve it with dates chutney and mint chutney, the same kinds used for chaat. That tastes great, but is different from this.

2. In some versions, ground coconut is added to the curd. Although I was tempted to try this, I didn't have any coconut in the fridge (remember, I was away for 3 weeks!). Maybe next time.